Forests are often defined by their dominent species in a the mature or last climax succession. For example a if a woodland site is completely burned first smaller bushes will grow then successively larger trees until eventually you get a fairly stable group of plants. It sounds as if you might be in a Maple, Cherry Beech Appalachain type of forest. If you find a forestry text ( also may be called sylvics or sylviculture) you can find a list of what types of trees grow. Usually this will include the big trees and the understory trees. It has been several years since I studied this but I think you might find. Red Maple, Black Cherry, American Beech, Tulip Popler, Sugar Maple and Hemlock as some of you dominate species. Understory might include grey birch, yellow birch, witch hazel, sassafrass. The non-woody plants and much harder to define because they change more rapidly. As the trees grow the shade conditions change and plants that grew well before no longer do. If an area loses its trees by wind or fire wildflowers and other plants which have not been there for years suddenly appear because there is more light. The seeds have been in the soil all the time waiting for the right conditions to grow, this is called the seed bank.

I finally found a pillow I like -- at Costco! I don't recall the price, but think it was about $30 for two. (Since it was Costco I knew I could return it.) I'm a back/side sleeper. I've had it for three months. The package says "Charisma Luxury Down Alternative Pillow Two Pack" and "Jumbo 20in X 28in". I think the secret is that it has a gusset edge, so I can 'fluff' it up to give enough support. It's machine washable, although I haven't washed mine yet. The fiberfill is Comforel(TM) Silkysoft(TM). Hah! Now that I'm looking at the tag on the pillow I see it says it is 18" X 26" X 2" -- not exactly what the package advertised, eh? The covering is made in China, but the pillow is filled and finished in USA. Manufacturer is Hollander Home Fashions of Boca Raton, FL. Anyway...I really like it!

Look up saprophytic fungus :-) These organisms feed on dead organic matter.....which most potting soils contain to some extent. Harmless to the live plants growing there but often an indication of a too wet or too moisture retentive a soil media. Which may not be quite as harmless!

What interesting stories and remininices. Hope you won't feel even a tad stupid, roxsol - you've been learning and developing over the years, and becoming a better equipped member of this worldwide community. I've often said that it's a poor day in which one doesn't learn something! I think that Covid has given us some object lessons in the issue of us all being in this together. We'll need to follow that path much more extensively as we deal with this planet-wide climate warning crisis. Hope you all have a lovely and memorable May. ole joyfuelled